1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a remote control for a combined ceiling fan and light fixture. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a remote control wherein a wall control may be used as a replacement for an existing wall switch, and with a control unit providing for control of the ceiling fan and accompanying light fixture mounted to a ceiling fixture without any modification to the existing electrical wiring between the wall switch and the ceiling fixture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ceiling fans are currently manufactured which provide for a variety of desired features. Specifically, modern ceiling fans may generally be controlled to operate at at least a plurality of different speeds from a relatively low speed to a high maximum speed. In addition, the direction of rotation of the fan may generally be controlled to be in either one of two opposite directions.
Ceiling fans are also often combined with light fixtures and with the intensity level of the light fixtures additionally controlled from low light levels to high maximum light levels. Presently, most if not all of these various controls of the fan and/or combined light fixture are generally provided by controls located on the fan itself.
The fans themselves are generally mounted to an existing electrical ceiling fixture and may be used in place of a light fixture. The power to the fan, either individually or when combined with a light fixture, is provided by the normal on/off wall switch. Once power is switched to the fan then further controls such as on/off, speed control and the direction of rotation may be provided by controls located on the fan itself. Similarly, additional controls such as on/off and intensity of the light fixture combined with the fan are provided by controls located on the fan. The fan and light may be preset to the desired levels of speed and intensity and the existing wall switch used to turn the fan and light to these preset levels.
Unfortunately, each time the user desires to change the existing levels than a further control must be made at the fan. As an example, during the daytime it may be desirable to run the fan and not the light. Therefore, the light must be turned off at the fan. At night, it may be desirable to run the light and not the fan. At that time the fan must be turned off at the fan. There are times when the fan speed is to be increased, decreased or reversed or the intensity of the light level changed and again all of this additional control must be accomplished at the fan. If the fan is located a sufficient distance above the floor, it may be necessary to bring a chair or ladder in order for the user to accomplish this additional control.
It can be seen therefore that it would be very desirable to be able to control all the various functions of the combined fan and light from a convenient position remote from the fan. In the past this has generally been accomplished by rewiring between the existing wall switch and the ceiling fixture and replacing the wall switch with variable controls connected to the new wiring to provide for a control of any or all of the desired functions. Unfortunately, such a rewiring can not be accomplished by the average homeowner and this means that the fan must be installed by an electrician between the location of the wall switch and the location of the ceiling fixture. This greatly complicates the installation of the ceiling fan with a remote control and makes the installation considerably more expensive.
One prior art device which has been used to provide for a partial solution to the above described problem of remotely controlling the operation of the ceiling fan is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,632 issued Mar. 30, 1982 and listing Edward F. Hart and Dean D. Fletcher II as the inventors. This prior art patent is directed to a remote load selector which uses an existing wall switch to control a load by toggling the existing switch as to provide for the selective application of power to multiple loads such as a combined ceiling fan and light fixture. This prior art patent has a number of limitations and specifically the patent operates by the actual application or removal of power by manually operating the wall switch. This may be sometimes difficult to accomplish properly. In addition, the prior art load selector described above is generally limited in the number of controls that can be accomplished by the application and removal of power to the loads.